Universal controlling devices, for example, remote controls, which are adaptable to issue commands to a multiplicity of appliances of different type and/or manufacture, and the features and functionality provided by such controlling devices are well known in the art. In this regard, early universal controlling devices such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,887 were generally “learners,” that is, they were adapted to capture, store, and subsequently play back the command signals of the original equipment remote controls corresponding to the appliances to be controlled. However, the required initial teaching process used to configure such early universal controlling devices proved tedious and error prone.
To address this drawback, further universal controlling devices were introduced which included preprogrammed libraries of command code sets, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,774,511 or 4,959,810. As particularly described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,810, to configure such a universal controlling device a user is required to consult a reference manual or the like to obtain a setup code that corresponds to an intended target appliance. The setup code is then keyed into the universal controlling device where it is used to select a command code set from the library of command code sets stored in the universal controlling device whereupon the selected command code set is to be used when the universal controlling device is instructed to issue commands to that intended target appliance.
As alternatives to a user looking up a setup code and manually keying the setup code into the universal controlling device for the purpose of configuring the universal controlling device, U.S. Published Application Nos. 2006/0050142, 2004/0070491, and 2003/0189509 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,225,938 and 6,157,319 illustrate and describe using information from, for example, an RFID tag, bar code, appliance generated signal, user interaction with a locally displayed or remotely (e.g., computer or Internet) accessible menu, etc. to identify the appliance intended to be controlled which information is accordingly used to select a command code set from a library of command code sets to be used when sending commands to that appliance. As further described in these references, the library of command codes sets may be stored locally on the universal controlling device or in a database accessible to the universal controlling device where the selected command code sets are thus downloaded into the universal controlling device. As additionally described in these references, the information used to identify one or more intended target appliances may also be used to configure a macro command sequence to command operations of the one or more appliances, to configure a user interface for the universal controlling device in a manner that is also applicable to the appliance(s) to be controlled, etc.
Still further, universal controlling devices are known that allow a user to key into the universal controlling device information that is used to configure the universal controlling device to command additional operations of an intended target appliance. One such universal controlling device is described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,052. A yet further system and method for configuring a universal controlling device to command operations of an intended target appliance is described and illustrated in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/389,627, entitled “System And Method For Defining A Controlled Device Command Set,” filed on Mar. 24, 2006.
It is also known in the art to configure a universal controlling device to thereby provide to the universal controlling device a user interface that has the same appearance as the original equipment remote control corresponding to the appliances to be controlled. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,938,101 illustrates and describes a universal controlling device that provides a user interface in the form of a virtual remote control that has the key layout and appearance of an original equipment remote control. Similarly, PCT Published Application WO 2005/043484 illustrates and describes a universal controlling device having a camera where the camera is used to capture an image of an original equipment remote control which captured image is then used in the user interface of the universal controlling device.